Robert Lightfoot is chair of the Alabama Space Grant Consortium Industrial Advisory Board.
Michael Mercier | UAH
Robert Lightfoot, vice president of strategy and business development at Lockheed Martin Space, has been named chair of the newly formed Alabama Space Grant Consortium Industrial Advisory Board (IAB).
“I look forward to chairing the Industrial Advisory Board of the ASGC. It will be the IAB’s goal to advise and guide the ASGC in preparing the next generation space workforce to meet the rapidly expanding opportunities existing in the space economy,” Lightfoot says.
“As the acting NASA administrator, I found providing the hands-on experience to a diverse workforce and driving collaboration across multiple organizations to be keys to success, and will challenge the ASGC to do the same across these great universities.”
The IAB is comprised of 11 members in addition to the chair, with each ASGC campus nominating a member and the chair nominating five members. ASGC member universities are Alabama A&M University, Auburn University, Tuskegee University, The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, The University of Alabama in Huntsville and the University of South Alabama.
IAB members will be geographically dispersed across Alabama. Initially, of the 12 members, six will serve two-year terms so that terms will be staggered in the future. IAB board members will serve for four years following the initial startup period. A board member can continue to serve upon re-nomination by his or her campus or the IAB chair and approval by the ASGC management committee.
“The primary purpose of the board will be to advise the ASGC management committee on the merit and industry relevance of ASGC programs and suggest new programs and to advocate for funding for ASGC in both Montgomery and Washington D.C.,” says Dr. Dale Thomas, ASGC director, UAH professor and the eminent scholar in systems engineering.
The inaugural board meeting will be June 28 in Huntsville. Besides Lightfoot, board members are:
- Mark Becnel, president, RadioBro Corp.;
- Miranda Bouldin, president and chief executive officer, LogiCore Corp.;
- Steve Cash, vice president, Advanced Space Systems Division, QuantiTech;
- Kim Doering, vice president of Space Systems, Dynetics;
- Todd May, senior vice president, Space and Mission Solutions, KBR Inc.;
- Kenneth Sartor, associate professor, School of Technology, Engineering and Physical Sciences, Alabama A&M University;
- Charles Scales, director of business development, Sierra Lobo Inc.;
- Daniel Schumacher, AMCOM Express deputy and senior manager, Torch Technologies;
- Joey Shelton, senior vice president of defense systems, TriVector Services Inc.;
- Raymond Thompson, chief executive officer, Vista Engineering;
- David Trent, site director, Mobile Engineering Center, Airbus Americas Inc.
